German Vice Chancellor, Minister of Economy and Climate Affairs Robert Habeck, answering the question whether Berlin would refuse the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the event of an alleged escalation in Ukraine, said on Monday, February 7, that “all options for sanctions are being considered.”
“The French President and the Federal Chancellor are primarily trying to make diplomatic efforts, but it is also clear, and it has been said many times, that in the event of military aggression, all options for sanctions are considered. And everything means everything,” Khabek added at the briefing.
He also stressed that he “doesn’t want to get into speculation, but the word all covers everything.”
The day before, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany and its allies are ready to “take all necessary steps” in the event of Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine. According to him, Germany, together with the US government, has a clear agreement on gas transit and European energy sovereignty.
On January 28, it became known that in the event of a “Russian invasion” of Ukraine, the European Union (EU) could impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland had said the day before that SP-2 would be stopped if Russia made attempts to attack Ukraine.
At the same time, the United States and a number of European countries have recently expressed concern over the alleged increase in Russia’s “aggressive actions” against Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone, and such statements are used as an excuse to place as much NATO military equipment as possible near the borders of the Russian Federation.
On January 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was not going to start a war with Ukraine, and Western countries and the United States were “hysterically” developing the topic of a threat to Ukraine from the Russian Federation instead of forcing Ukraine to comply with the Minsk agreements.
The construction of SP-2 was completed on September 10, 2021. It was built from the Russian Federation to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea for the purpose of direct gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The Baltic States, Poland, the United States and Ukraine are opposed.
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